In an increasingly globalized world, many entrepreneurs face the same question: “Which countries should we focus on?” With dozens of trade shows, hundreds of leads, and growing website inquiries, itâs tempting to chase every opportunity. But experience and data suggest a better path: concentrated, deliberate market focus.
A recent example came on April 2, 2025âwhat President Trump called âLiberation Day.â His sweeping tariffs on imports were framed as a bold move to revive American industry. But for exporters, abrupt shifts like these, trigger uncertainty, force supply chain overhauls, and complicate market strategies. What seemed like opportunity quickly turned into confusion. Liberation Day, in practice, felt more like Doom Day for international trade and economic growth.
The lesson is clear: more isnât always better. Instead of reacting to every trend or request, successful exporters commit to structured country selection. Focus fuels faster, more resilient growthâeven in times of global disruption. Of course, this structured country selection, is a continues process, that should be re-evaluated frequently due to changing market circumstances.Â
International fairs, digital platforms, government trade missions, amongst other, present companies with a wealth of contacts and opportunities. Itâs not unusual to walk away from a trade event with 300 new business cards. But responding to every lead is neither sustainable nor strategic.
The tendency to be “everywhere at once” is particularly common amongst small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, research on successful Dutch export behavior shows a clear pattern: companies that narrowed their scope, focusing on fewer countries, achieved greater structural export growth.
This is a classic example of the 80/20 rule in action. Rather than spreading resources across dozens of geographies, firms that go deep in a few selected marketsâ20% of their export baseâreap 80% of their long-term gains. Additionally, becoming active in a one new market at the time, in the end results in a more effective market expansion. In a few years time, this provides exporters with a larger market share in more different markets.Â
Rather than choosing countries by gut feeling or based on the latest headline, exporters benefit from a repeatable selection framework. Such a framework is typically part of annual export planning sessions and can be implemented by teams of all sizes.
  1) Identify a Preliminary Long list of markets:
This includes existing export countries, markets with strong inbound inquiries, new regions mentioned in strategic conversations, and just based on gut feeling.
 2) Define Market Drivers
Come up with maximum 10 market drivers that for your company influence the level of a market appeal to you. One could think of:Â
 3) Assign weighted scoresÂ
For each country/market, fill in a score per defined market driver from 1-5. The effectiveness becomes higher, when these scores are based on research and team meetings, rather than on intuition.Â
 4) Group Countries by Priority Based on total scores, countries are categorized into:
 5) Decide on actual activities to be undertaken per groupÂ
Per group and market, a plan of activities should be drawn and initiated. Company resources must be used wisely. This means absolutely no activities should target Group 3 marketsâunless they are promoted to Group 2.
 6) Re-evaluation
This market selection exercise should be repeated frequently, at least once a year. Ideally, this is done by the entire international expansion / export team of the company. Events like the invasion of Russia in Ukraine, the import tariffs from Trump and Covid, that cause radical changes in the market circumstances, require a reconsideration of the market selection.Â
This process allows businesses to focus efforts where theyâre most likely to succeedâand to justify why they arenât pursuing certain leads, even if those leads seem promising at first glance.
The latest data from the Dutch Trends in Export 2025 report reaffirm the significance of country and geographic concentration. Despite challenges from ongoing geopolitical tensions, Dutch exporters showed resilience by maintaining a strong focus on familiar and nearby markets.
Some key findings:
Research amongst Europe based exporters shows that companies are tempted to orient themselves on faraway markets, but do not have a structured nor optimized export yet to the âlow-hanging fruitâ markets, in its neighbouring countries. Lessons learned from the current global circumstances, areÂ
Firms that consolidate their efforts within Europe, especially in markets like Germany, the Benelux, France, Italy, Spain, the Nordics, Eastern Europe, and Turkey, report more stable and predictable growth. In contrast, companies trying to juggle too many regions often experience slower progress and scattered results.
For 2025, the export environment presents a mix of familiar markets and new frontiers. Dutch companies are advised to take a tiered approach based on market performance, regulatory alignment, and growth outlook.
This prioritization is also supported by 2024 trade figures showing declining revenues in China and mixed results in the Americas, while the EU remained steady.
Even well-intentioned exporters can make missteps in choosing or approaching international markets. Common mistakes include:Â
Export success is not about how many countries a company entersâitâs about how it optimizes market presence in the right ones.
With your priority markets defined, 2025 is the year to execute with focus. Success wonât come from chasing every lead, but from following a clear focus and strategy. Start by evaluating countries using consistent criteria: market size, demand, competition, sales channels, regulations, cultural fit, logistics, trends, existing networks, and last but not least, global impactful events. Then, group them into three tiersâcore, secondary, and holdâconsequently, integrate the result in your export plan.
The country selection exercise, can be very well-used to evaluate both existing export markets as new ones. Stay alert to global risks, supply chains, political shifts, and trade policiesâlike the new U.S. tariffs announced in April.Â
In 2025, successful exporters will be those who resist the temptation to be everywhere at once and to react to every lead that knocks on the companyâs door. Instead, theyâll focusâstrategically, deliberately, and with disciplineâon a handful of markets where they can build long-term value, before expanding to the next one.Â
To most of the EU medium-sized companies, the following strategy applies: Turn nearby markets into a steady second home base! It is easier to achieve and makes you less vulnerable to global dramatic events.
If you are interested in this country, or you would like to expand to one of the other main markets in the Americas or Europe, contact us via the form, and we will get back to you shortly.
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On the 20th of January 2025 President Donald Trump had his inauguration day at the US Capitol in Washington. After being sworn in as president, he promised to bring a new âGolden Age of Americaâ by putting the United States of America first. His plans included prioritizing American Citizens and protecting the economy from other countries with the use of tariffs.
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